>> pelley: tonight, close to the end. just hours before election day, polls show a virtual tie. ie.that's why i need your vote! >> every single voter. te! them out! >> pelley: election eve reports elle jan crawford, nancy cordes, bob schieffer and john es,kerson. a week after the storm folks are so desperate for heat they're so desg furniture. >> it's very cold and they need bu to keep warm somehow. >> pelley: reports from jim imelrod and seth doane. and remember all that anger on the gas lines? >> i'm yelling? >> pelley: ben tracy found one >> place that's old-fashioned friendly. pl as long as people need the gas, we'll pump it for them. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening, two enars, $2 billion. urw it's your turn. ,he long, expensive presidential wn t is down to its final hours.

national polls show that it's dead even, but in the few swing states that could tip the balance tomorrow night president obama has a slight advantage over mitt romney. in ohio, a university of oncinnati poll shows the president ahead 50% to 49%. in florida, a recent poll has him ahead by just two points. in wisconsin, the president hreds by three points. in iowa, the "des moines register" shows mr. obama up mr. oboints. and the colorado poll has him ahead by two points. our campaign 2012 team is covering. first we're going to go to nancy wedes with the president tonight. nancy? >> pelley: scott, after 100 rallies, the president holds his final one here in des moines tonight for two reasons: first, mostuse iowa is one of the battleground states the campaign inls most confident about sinning and second because, in

many ways, this is the state that first catapulted him towards the president that upset win in the iowa caucuses five years ago. >> hello, colorado! hello, wisconsin! hello, ohio! >> pelley: president obama has sient the past 48 hours in seven maates, three time zones. >> are you fired up? areeporter: surrendering sleep and his voice in pursuit of a second time. >> this is not just a choice between two candidates and two parties, it's a choice between wo different visions of aerica. ffes a choice between the return to the top-down economic it olicies that crashed our economy or a vision that says 'v've got to build a strong foundation based on a strong and growing middle-class. -ccheers and applause) ausepportunity for everybody, :ot just some. >> reporter: in these final fran frantic days, he's been embraced dy bill clinton, in new hampshire, serenaded by bruce ed bngsteen in madison and stevie wonder in cincinnati.

today mr. obama had this message his supporters who may have lost some faith over the past four fars. ow so you know where i stand. ow whnow what i believe. you know i tell the truth. tellou know that i'll fight for you and your families every single day as hard as i know how. you know that about me. (cheers and applause) >> reporter: a top aide tells me tells ver the past few days the president has grown visibly more relaxed as he slides from rally forcelly on air force one, first cause hehe's very confident in utcooutcome but also because he matt that no matter what cott,ns tomorrow, scott, this is the last race he'll ever run. >> pelley: confidence, maybe, nancy, but they can read the polls, too. just have a look at the president's travel schedule today alone. barn storming three of those swing states that we've been talking about. plus his home state of illinois. mitt romney worked four swing states today as well to try to make up for those paper-thin

deficits. jan crawford has been with him at every stop and, jan, where are you now? >> reporter: well, scott we're here at columbus,, ohio. over the weekend i was talking with one of his senior advisors and i said "what do you have planned in these final days?" hd he had a one-word answer and e said "praying." he laughed and said it with a smile but it reflected the underlying tension and uncertain aiy a race that could not be any closer. >> if you believe we can do better and if you believe america should be on a better course and if you're tired of being tired then i ask you to vote and work for real change. h theporter: with the campaign in its final hours, romney's hitting four tossup states today fter a weekend of crisscrossing ountrountry as he tries to close t ththe race with the win. >> this is much more than our moment, it's america's moment of s momen and purpose and optimism and we've journeyed far and wide greats great campaign for ica'sca's future and now we're

almost home. one final push is going to get us there. >> reporter: romney is still expressing confidence, but in thio yesterday he acknowledged ngth a touch of humor the chance moe president could win. >> if the president were to be reelected -- ( boos) -- it's possible but not likely. ely.ghter) >> reporter: the strain of the campaign is showing, especially on ann romney who says she was emotional as she looked back. okedt really is humbling, it's very touching. >> reporter: and as they took in rter:ge crowd at a colorado aally this weekend, both romneys seem to recognize the hard fought race was nearing an end. sow, this race, though, is not over yet. nom here romney flies tonight to new hampshire, that, of nighte, is the state where he hatked off his campaign for a kickedrally and tomorrow on ally ann day he is right back here in ohio and then off to nennsylvania, that's the state once considered safe for the president but, scott, in this

tight race anything could happen ti and that, too, could be up for grabs. tooelley: one thing that might happen, jan, is a nor'easter grab that is headed to the state of florida tomorrow. the storm is packing rain and winds up to 55 miles an hour. on wednesday it's expected to hit new york and new jersey which are still trying to tcover from hurricane sandy. some of the victims of that storm will vote tomorrow at temporary polling stations. bob schieffer is our chief washington correspondent and anchor of "face the nation." bob, what are you looking for in ouis tight race tomorrow? ro well, i'll tell you, scott, telalked to the top people in both campaigns today and this ay come as a surprise but both uides are flat out predicting not just wins but big wins. e obamama people say they feel good about the early voting in most of the key battleground states. they feel very good about iowa and nevada. they think they're ahead by a they t there florida. red they may be right.

but republicans tend to do better at getting their voters out on election day, so they can turn all that around and the ple ar people are arguing that thusenthusiasm and the intensity tens're seeing at their rallies will make that happen. i have to say, when you clear ,way all the spin, it is coming hing:to one thing: turnout. which side gets their voters to whic the polls tomorrow? and just to add that one note of fuspense to all of that: it's that storm heading toward florida tonight. owardlley: bob, thank you very much. as you know, under our constitution we don't vote e, wetly for a presidential elndidate, we are choosing electors for each of the candidates. each state has many as electors has it has members of congress and the senate. or takes 270 of those electors to win and our political dicktor john dickerson is here to show us how each candidate could reach that number. hn?n?

tt scott, all 50 states contribute electoral votes to that 270 number. but cbs news estimates that 41 of those states that tes ttionally go either to a republican or democrat are ankely to go into one of the two to mns. that that leaves those nine battleground states, the big prizes up tomorrow. if you tabulate the states that biditionally go to the democrats, that would be tlifornia and states like new ia andpresident obama starts with 237 electoral votes. rtsernor romney starts with 1919 electoral votes from states like texas and georgia that traditionally vote for the republicans. ans.ou look at the easiest path or the president, because he had 237 at that start he has more pathways to that magical 270. tis easiest path would be if he were to win florida. that would mean he would only thve to win one of the remaining eight battleground states to get to ge0. 2vernor romney has a tougher rnor rom if he were to win florida and hen also to win ohio and virginia and north carolina

biggs four of the biggest states, that would still only get him to 266 electoral votes. he'd need one of the remaining five battleground states, scott, ou get to 270. to gelley: john, thank you. john, bob, norah o'donnell and our entire campaign 2012 team will bring you election night coverage beginning the moment the first polls close tomorrow st 7:00 p.m. eastern time. a week ago tonight hurricane sandy crashed ashore. we learned today that the death toll is up to 119 in nine ates.s. more than a million homes and businesses are without power and in new york 40,000 people lost their homes. last night, the temperature dropped below 40 degrees and you might be surprised at what jim today. found today. >> reporter: they're breaking up furniture for firewood on staten island. >> it's very cold and they need to keep going somehow so i'm i'md the fire department isn't coming to put the fire out.

>> reporter: desperate moms are ice?ding online in queens. >> you want some rice? theeporter: hoping the donated food doesn't run out. >> it's hard, you know? because you don't want your baby n't w hungry. goreporter: all over the city, the powerful are getting an cityl. g anou've got to be kidding me! where were you yesterday? >> reporter: help is now poring into new york and new jersey. help is have landed in staten d iand. 280 state troopers from eight states were sworn in to help in st new jersey, including 50 from the mississippi highway patrol. more than a thousand utility crews from as far away as california and canada are being staged at city field, home to the new york mets. >> we're in hand-to-hand combat. c are just going block to block putting up facilities that have been damaged by those winds and/or the floods. >> reporter: john miksad is in charge of power restoration for restorrk's largest electric ompany.

hased has restored power to 800,000 customers but have 150,000 to go before a coastal 15 oaorm sweeps in midweek. dweek may slow down the troops heat are out there doing restoration. >> reporter: on new jersey's rest long beach island, homeowners were finally allowed to check chedamage. >> the bottom fell out so we bore just lucky that the house lucky ll standing. pictures of theures of the house so we knew it had been badly damaged but it's still seeing it is painful. >> reporter: and the gas lines could get worse. e.ott, that nor'easter could also knock out power to some of the pumps that have just been ed.tored. >> pelley: jim, we were struck york by the cover of this week's new york magazine. it's an aerial foe show showing most of lower manhattan blacked out last wednesday. bo, nearly all of the power is back now, but seth doane found

not in the borough of staten island. >> everything starting just coming through. tharted coming in through the ugck, these windows, those windows, pouring over the sink. >> you've got your kids in your arms just trying to get out the door? what was going through your mind? >> please don't let me drop my kids. ase d let me drop my kids. >> reporter: danielle valitutto spent every night since sandy sleeping here. a least her kids-- destiny and isah-- are staying with her brother in maryland. >> sandy took everything else, i'm not giving her my home. >> reporter: her house is close to her job which she cannot to ich sh to give up. floodwater filled the first floor. volunteers have helped strip out everything, including the soggy gry wall. >> this is my living room. emptied out, gutted, no ceiling. it's freezing in here. sometimes i put my lighter up to hanands to try to stay warm. arm.eporter: she's had to leave her windows open to dry out the place. upstairs, she can lock herself ock how do you stay warm at night?

tayblankets, blankets, i have kets,lothes over there, just es owing anything on top of me just's possible. >> reporter: last night, her flashlight barely pierce it had etrkness. her street was filled with unfamiliar shadows. her neighbor burglarized twice. larizetto's car is a refuge, but gas is hard to come by so yurning on the heater is a short-lived luxury. ve if we didn't have looters i ould feel more comfortable. but you can't even feel comfortable because you got gotle coming and trying to rob left.er you have left. >> reporter: her waitress job provides a little heat and a glimmer of hope. >> my head is not all here. heread is everywhere else. but i have to work. i need the income coming in so at least i can find a place to stay until the house is ready. >> reporter: valitutto met with representatives from fema today woultold her it would be another seven to ten days before they determined whether she would be eligible for two months of temporary housing.

scott, she told us she didn't diw what she'd do after that. afterley: seth, thank you. in one battleground state it is a door-to-door fight for votes. ore american soldier charged ieth murdering afghan civilians goes before a military tribunal. and when pumping gas means pumping gas. whether the "cbs evening news" continues. copd makes it hard to breathe, but with advair, i'm breathing better. so now i can be in the scene. advair is clinically proven to help significantly improve lung function. unlike most copd medications, advair contains both an anti-inflammatory and a long-acting bronchodilator working together to help improve your lung function all day.

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get headed in a new direction. with humira, remission is possible. >> pelley: the latest poll in virginia shows that the presidential race there is a virtual tie. president obama's one-point lead-- 48% to 47%-- is well wthin the margin of error. which means every voter behind every door counts. and here's wyatt andrews. >> reporter: if you live in virginia, the race for president presbecome a race to the front ntor. a ground game sprint by both campaigns to knock on hundreds of thousands of doors. door, how are you? >> to plead with their own tpporters to show up on p oction day. .> we give you one of our brochures? >> reporter: we watched romney volunteer mackie kristenson in krisburg, virginia. >> you're not just a romney voter, we want you to vote. y> we know it's so close, we

isten to the polls. >> reporter: nearby, in gainesville, virginia, obama volunteers linda legarde and arde antuckerman were urging the s suppent's supporters not to get distracted or forget to vote if they're supporting the president anyway, what's the point? >> the point is to remind them that their vote counts. their vote could be the one that flips it for our side. their vote can be the one that orlps make a difference. ferene in-person visit did make difference to obama voter fferennie torres. >> i think it gives it a personal touch. i think it does solidify your own decisions. eveeporter: every step taken by ehese volunteers is science. >> i would encourage your support for barack obama. >> reporter: the campaigns, after making millions of phone mills, already know who has voted early so they know with knse by house precision where ision likely voters remain. >> do they have a plan to vote? e a pporter: that precision aans door knockers are given

maps showing not just who to usttact but the most efficient way to walk there. >> it tells us where to start, where to end. t, one of us takes one side of the street, the other takes the tther. >> reporter: this one leesburg neighborhood is so up for grabs. >> the mitt romney campaign. careporter: most of the voters the zach gelnet, a romney lipporter, have been visited three or four times. how many phone calls? how many door knocks? >> i get a ton, especially on my home office phone. i must get six or seven a day. a deporter: but both campaigns oth believe virginia will be decided by the better ground cided after the candidates spent $86 af ntllion here on ad time and hundreds of hours in campaign time virginia is still up for grabs. wyatt andrews, leesburg, virginia. stpelley: that meningitis

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take tylenol or take aleve, the #1 recommended pain reliever by orthopedic doctors. just two aleve can keep pain away all day. back to the news. >> pelley: it was a particularly bloody day in syria's civil war sday. the assad dictatorship sent warplanes to bomb a town near to bomrkish border. turkisights groups say at least 159 people were killed. .his is one of the most violent days in months.

nthsassad family has ruled the country for four decades. they're out to crush a rebellion that began with peaceful protests 19 months ago. at a military court hearing in washington state today prosecutors said they have what they call chilling evidence against staff sergeant robert tales. he's accused of the pre- meditated murder of 16 civilians n southern afghanistan, most of the victims women and children. proprosecutors say bales carried out one attack, then returned to his base before heading out to attack a second village. notorious boston mobster james "whitey" bulger, who spent 17 years in hiding before he was arrested last year, is in the hospital. the 83-year-old former leader of the winter hill gang is awaiting trial for 19 murders. he was taken from prison yesterday complaining of chest pains. gas lines straight out of the 1970s meet technology right out of the 1940s in a moment. 40s in a moment.

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anonymous donors behind prop 30 are unmasked. next n cbs 5 the largest case of campaign finally tonight, it's gotten plenty tense on those long gasoline lines in new york and new jersey. but ben tracy found a station where, even after the hurricane, it is still service with a smile, a smile and a very strong arm. >> reporter: in this gas line,

there are no wheels, just feet. >> this is the only can we have. >> reporter: they come with their hands full and wait as long as three hours. >> right around here, this is the best line around. >> reporter: because in this line, there is no profanity, just patience. >> yeah, you take your time. >> reporter: after the storm, richie dodd could have closed like other stations did; but he told his wife, dottie, he had another idea. >> richie said, the people need me, dottie and that's what he's going to do. i said, but richie, how do you that? he said, i have help. >> reporter: help in the form of a hand pump. >> this here pump is like a 1948 pump. >> reporter: he connected a copper pipe and drove it into his underground tank. in four days, dodd's crew has cranked out 30,000 gallons. >> you have to do for the people. people get to get their generators going. >> reporter: generators are the only source of light and heat around here. so a can is the hottest accessory in town. scott caldwell showed up with five of them.

>> three little ones at home; so anything i can do to keep the house warm, keep them fed, you know, i'm willing to do. >> $63. >> reporter: tracy did not care how much it cost. >> i just said, richie, how much? i'll write a check. >> reporter: the dodds did not gouge their neighbors. >> that would never be richie dodd. that would never be richie dodd. those prices would never change. what it is, it is. >> reporter: on this corner, the passion is measured by the -- compassion is measured by the gallon. >> as long as the people need the gas, we'll pump it for them. >> reporter: ben tracy, cbs news, rumson, new jersey. >> and that's the "cbs evening news" for tonight. for all of us at cbs news all around the world, good night. captions by: caption colorado comments@captioncolorado.com >> your realtime captioner: linda marie macdonald good evening, i'm allen

martin. >> i'm dana king. it is almost over. fundraising, the polls, the ads and the back biting. >> in california, a lot of attention on prop 30. the governor has a lot riding on getting people to vote yes. right now he is making a final plea for that. cbs 5 reporter ken bastida is with him tonight. ken. >> reporter: it's not over until it's over. so the governor is taking every last minute of this night before the election to push prop 30 and it started early this morning about this morning in san diego, then los angeles, spent time at two locations there and then it was off to fresno and after fresno it was on to sacramento. and after sacramento, here back to san francisco to delancey street where he addressed the crowd. after his speech, i reminded the governor that there are a lot of californians st